quotes tagged with 'grounded'

Larry Miller never did change, even though his bank account did. As Lee Benson wrote in the Deseret News, he was the kind of man you hoped you'd be if you had money. Miller was arguably the most famous and beloved man in Utah, but he never acted as if he knew it. Benson recalled a quote from Kipling when he wrote of Miller: "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings, nor lose the common touch."

That was Miller's nature, but he also went to some pains to ensure that money didn't change him. As I sat in the Miller house with Gail, she placed her late husband's wristwatch, wedding ring, and wallet on the table in front of me. "Notice anything about them?" she asked. The ring is a plain gold band-which he liked to tell people cost $22- and the watch is a nondescript $100 Seiko with a worn leather wristband. He wore the same watch for years, changing only the band when it began to crack. He didn't buy a new wallet until the stitching fell out of the old one. "He wanted to keep grounded and remember where he came from and not put on airs." says Gail. "He made a conscious effort to remain the same."

Larry wrote in his notes: "The worry I have with having nice things is getting dependent on them and not having the toughness to survive without them."

Going to the temple will give us perspective. I find it easy to get lost and derailed. I know that frequent temple attendance will give new thinking to old problems. Sometimes when we are there things look different because we see ourselves differently; no other place can give us such hope.